This invention is generally directed to a novel wireless coffee grinder and coffee brewer interface and its method of use. More particularly, the invention contemplates a novel wireless coffee grinder and coffee brewer interface which utilizes a brew funnel which can be mounted on either the coffee grinder or the coffee brewer to communicate information regarding batch size and type to the coffee grinder and to the coffee brewer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,186,399, which identifies the same assignee as the present application, describes a system of connecting a multiple batch size brewer and a dual hopper grinder in order to coordinate the amount of ground coffee with the selected brewing volume. This system could possibly result in some users being confused about setting the switches on the coffee grinder and on the coffee brewer to achieve the desired results. This problem is compounded when a dual head coffee brewer is used with a dual hopper coffee grinder, then complicated further when a single coffee grinder services more than one coffee brewer. In addition, the grinding operation is generally much faster than a brewing cycle (seconds versus minutes). Consequently, it is feasible for one coffee grinder to service several coffee brewers. Due to the complexity and expense of the switching and interconnect cables, however, a maximum of two coffee brewers are used with the system disclosed in the '399 patent.
The present invention provides a novel structure and method which overcomes the problems found in the system disclosed in the '399 patent. Other features and advantages will become apparent upon a reading of the attached specification, in combination with a study of the drawings.